Hey Santa, here’s our 2016 ‘Marketing Naughty & Nice’ list

Here are our choices for those in marketing, ads and search who deserve a candy cane -- or a lump of coal.

Even a Jewish guy like me knows that Santa — trying like everyone else to satisfy his customers — can barely keep up.

Like many of us, he’s awash in data — from social networks, web browsing trails, and the particulars about that time when so-and-so helped the old lady cross the busy street or when such-and-such didn’t let the other car cut in front.

Sure, machine learning helps him pick out the most relevant data, and predictive analytics can forecast whether those were isolated incidents or typical behavior. But then the data needs to be turned into the right gifts or lack thereof — and, well, there are only so many elves in this world to help out.

So, once again, we decided to lighten Santa’s burden a bit by offering our take on who in marketing, advertising and search has been naughty and who’s been nice. So he can concentrate on, you know, lists about boys and girls.

It’s the least we could do.

Who’s been nice

Go, Pokémon, Go

It feels like decades since we first starting hearing about how computer generated content would be married with real world content, in real time. There had been some hints and demos of how this might happen, but it all seemed too distant for any real marketing value.

About The Author

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.